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Using Assignments with Turnitin - Version 2

When using Turnitin, please note that you MUST include the Turnitin Syllabus Statement in the syllabi of courses using this service.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: The above referenced statement MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE COURSE SYLLABUS in the event the course stops using Turnitin.

Turnitin's Similarity Report enables you to monitor assignment submissions and compare those submissions with an online database of original content. Turnitin cannot identify incidents of plagiarism. It can only create Similarity Reports that show the degree of similarity between a submitted assignment and sources of content within the database. It is up to you to determine whether or not plagiarism has occurred.

You can view Similarity Reports which highlight key areas, show a breakdown of matching sources, and provide direct links to the matching content.

You can also take advantage of the integrated Online Gradingtool which enables you to add comments, inline text and highlight sections in file submissions, directly from the D2L Assignments tool.

Getting Started with Turnitin

  1. Create or edit an Assignment with the file upload option.
  2. Select the Evaluation & Feedback panel.
  3. Select the Manage Turnitin link.
  4. From the Turnitin Integrations dialog, check Enable Similarity Report for this folder.
  5. Check Enable Online Grading for this folder.
  6. Leave the defaults or select other options, and click Save. 

Managing Turnitin Features - Online Grading

Grade Transfer

Instructors can transfer grades entered directly into Turnitin Online Grading to the D2L Assignment folders. This is done by selecting the “Automatically sync grades as Draft in Brightspace” option. When there are multiple submissions, the score from the most recently submitted assignment will be transferred to D2L. Instructors have the option of manually editing the grades in D2L if adjustments must be processed. Instructors also have the option of selecting “Manually sync grades as Draft in Brightspace” if they like to perform this step on their own.

Learn more about Optional Settings at Turnitin Feedback Studio > D2L > D2L Brightspace V2 > Turnitin assignment settings.

More Options in Turnitin - Online Grading

Grammar Check - ETS

In the "More Options in Turnitin" menu instructors can enable grammar checking using ETS. Enabling this feature allows instructors to adjust the expected skill level, language dictionary, and what information ETS should be scanning for to accurately mark student submissions.

For more information on Grammar Check please visit Turnitin, e-rater grammar check.

Rubrics

You can now build or import grading rubrics in Turnitin. Please note: These rubrics only exist within Turnitin. Click Attach a rubric, then launch the Rubric Manager to begin building your Rubric.

For more information on creating Rubrics in Turnitin please visit, Creating Turnitin Rubrics.

Managing Turnitin Features – Similarity Report

While creating or editing a Submission Folder, select Enable Similarity Report for this folder. After enabling Similarity Report, you’ll have the options for Display to determine if you’d like students to see similarity scores and frequency of report generation.

More Options in Turnitin – Similarity Report

In your Similarity Report options, you’ll determine the number of times, the speed, or the date that reports are generated in addition to:

  • Allowing students to view similarity reports
  • Excluding bibliographic materials
  • Excluding quoted materials
  • Excluding small sources

Note: Your Optional Settings panel allow you to save your settings for future use as defaults in your course. (For Assignment Folders created after the defaults have been set.)

Viewing Similarity Reports

View Similarity Reports from the Folder Submissions page. When a report is available, the status changes from In-Progress to a percentage rating, which indicates the level of matching content.

Viewing a file submission summary

A lower percentage rating indicates that the content is likely original and has not been copied; a higher percentage rating indicates the content is likely not original and has been copied from another source.

The percentage ranges are associated with colors:

  • Blue: No matching text
  • Green: One word to 24% matching text
  • Yellow: 25-49% matching text
  • Orange: 50-74% matching text
  • Red: 75-100% matching text

View an Similarity Report for a submission

Click the colored section beside the percentage rating to view the associated Similarity Report.

Opening Similarity Reports

The Similarity Report is comprised of two panes. The right pane lists all of the matching sources, including the percentage of text that matches and a link to the online content. The left pane displays the submission text using colored highlights to draw attention to the matching content.

Files compatible with Similarity Report

For more information on file types that are compatible with Turnitin please visit Turnitin, Accepted file types and sizes. D2L support recommends providing this link to your students. The link provided also contains information on file types that are NOT compatible with Turnitin.

Note: Turnitin will alert students that they may be submitting a file that cannot be processed by Turnitin. This will NOT prevent students from submitting files that are not compatible with Turnitin.

Turnitin Feedback Studio

For information on using Turnitin Feedback Studio, please visit Turnitin Getting Started with Feedback Studio.

Turnitin’s AI Writing Detection Capabilities

TII's AI detection score identifies the likelihood of generative AI text but may not always be accurate, so it shouldn't be the sole basis for actions against a student. It needs human judgment and scrutiny to determine academic misconduct.

For more information, please visit Turnitin’s AI Writing Detection.

MSU Documentation